Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning at each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting machines. Shrewd operators consequently strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines, features, and enhancements available because such machines attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the operator. Therefore, there is a continuing need for gaming machine manufacturers to continuously develop new games and improved gaming enhancements that will attract frequent play through enhanced entertainment value to the player.
One concept that has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is the concept of a “secondary” or “bonus” game that may be played in conjunction with a “basic” game. The bonus game may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game, which is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome in the basic game. Generally, bonus games provide a greater expectation of winning than the basic game and may also be accompanied with more attractive or unusual video displays and/or audio. Bonus games may additionally award players with “progressive jackpot” awards that are funded, at least in part, by a percentage of coin-in from the gaming machine or a plurality of participating gaming machines. Because the bonus game concept offers tremendous advantages in player appeal and excitement relative to other known games, and because such games are attractive to both players and operators, there is a continuing need to develop gaming systems with new types of bonus games to satisfy the demands of players and operators.
One concept which has been employed in gaming systems is the awarding of mystery prizes or jackpots. Traditionally, such prizes are awarded to players independently of gameplay, in other words, not as a function of obtaining a particular outcome on a wagering game. Rather, mystery prizes are awarded through various triggering mechanisms. One such triggering mechanism is providing a mystery prize to one or more players at randomly selected time periods. Another triggering mechanism is awarding mystery prizes after a predetermined amount of wagers are received from players of the gaming system. Yet another triggering mechanism involves randomly selecting a predetermined jackpot trigger value and awarding the mystery award or jackpot when the jackpot value reaches the trigger amount. In this latter triggering mechanism, the gaming system may or may not display information as to the range of trigger values. One problem which exists is that even when such a range is displayed, players are unaware if and when the jackpot is more likely to be triggered given the current status of the jackpot within such range. Another problem that exists is that such mystery jackpots offer only a single, relatively larger prize, which often causes long periods of time in between successive triggering events of the jackpot. The present invention is directed to solving these and other problems.